My Life as a Cursed Shinobi
by Moon Tennyo
Summary: Mina Mikura is an egnima to he village of Konoha, especially Sasuke and Neji. What will happen to this mysterious kunochi as she leaves her previous life as a Kiri ANBU behind to pursue a new one as a Konoha genin?
1. Introductions

My Life as a Cursed Shinobi

Introductions…

Name: Mina Mikura

Age: 12

Rank: Kohona genin, Kira (hidden mist village) ANBU

Personality: Mysterious, sarcastic, happy-go-lucky (NOT perky), quiet

Hair color: Brown with golden streaks

Eye color: Brown

Attire: A sky blue sleeveless shirt with fishnet sleeves. White shorts and bandages on legs. Ninja sandals and an ivory colored jacket, which is unzipped. Forehead protector around neck.

Family:

Mother: Miri Mikura (deceased)

Father: Tori Mikura (deceased)

Uncle: Toki Mikura

Cousin: Kari Mikura

Aunt: Sana Mikura


	2. Prologue

My Life as a Shinobi

Prologue…

--- Flashback: 6 years old---

"Daddy!" I shouted, as I tried to break free from the guard's tight grasp. My father, Tori Mikura, was writhing on the floor in pain, as my uncle, Toki Mikura, was standing above him, his hands in a strange seal, with Kari, my cousin, laughing at my father on the floor. My father suddenly stopped moving, and I cried out again.

"Do it again, Daddy! Do it again!" Kari shouted, and my uncle formed both his hands in the strange seal, causing my father to start to scream in pain and clutch his arm.

I shouted again in desperation, and felt new tears flowing out of my eyes.

---End Flashback---

---Another Flashback: 8 years old---

"MOMMY! DADDY! NO!!!" I cried, as I helplessly watched my parents killed by the assassins sent to kill my uncle and aunt, who were using them as shields. I cried again as my uncle and aunt carelessly threw their bodies aside, and they thrust me in the path of the rogue shinobi. I trembled in fear as the nin prepared to slash me with a kunai, but saw him forced to the side by an ANBU ninja. I looked around, and saw ANBU squads fighting the other rogue ninjas, and after a few minutes, they had killed them all.

The ANBU leader walked up to my aunt and uncle, who were showering them with praise, and when they were asked about what had happened, they made up some story about them bravely fighting the shinobi, and then my parents were killed on accident. I clutched the hem of my shirt, crying angrily. I knew that they were lying, but I knew that if I contradicted what they said, they would kill me.

---End Flashback---

---Another Flashback: 10 years old ---

"Uncle, I'm an ANBU now! Aren't you happy?" I asked my uncle, with a large smile on my face. Instead of seeing the smile on his face, I saw it turn to disgust and anger.

"You're a what?!" he shouted in anger.

I was surprised at his reaction, and replied in a small voice, "I passed the ANBU exams!"

My uncle looked furious, and then slapped me on my right cheek. I, not expecting this, felt tears form in my eyes. "Why did you do that uncle?" I cried, and he just started shouting at me to go to my room.

I was happy to oblige, to get away from his angry yells.

I left that night, packing everything I needed and some things that my mother and father left me. Taking some clothes, food, water, kunais, shurikens, some money, and the sapphire necklace, the gold locket, and the diamond pendant I received from my parents on my birthday, I hid away all my other precious things and my parent's things in a secret cave in the forest behind the house.

As I turned back to take one last look at the estate, I stared at the house that brought me misery, and I was silently happy that I was leaving the horrid place.

---End Flashback---

---Another Flashback: 11 years old---

I was cold, tired, and hungry. I had run out of food, and my clothes were in shreds. I had run in to a few ninjas, and killed them all, regardless of whether or not they were friends or foes.

I slumped down next to an extraordinarily large tree, and sat between two large roots, and leaned back. All of a sudden, I fell through the bark of the tree, and tumbled down a tunnel to collide with a pretty woman, who was training.

"What are you doing here?" the woman said angrily.

"I'm sorry! I was j-just resting a-against the tree and then I just fell t-through the bark!" I stammered. "H-honest, I didn't do anything!"

The woman's eyes softened. "Oh, okay, that's alright. You look like you need some rest. Why don't you stay here for awhile?" she asked kindly.

"Oh, thank you very much! I would like that very much… um, I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name," I said sheepishly.

"Oh, my name is Rin Hykito. What's yours?" Rin replied.

"My name is Mina Mikura, Rin-sama," I said, bowing.

Rin laughed. "No need for the 'sama', Mina. Come on, let's get you fixed up," she said, and led me out of the room.

I lived and trained with Rin for a year. She became my only friend, and acted as my mother at many times. She taught me healing jutsus, and I studied the ninja arts in her massive library. Soon, I showed her the summoning jutsu (dragon for the Mikura clan), and she, impressed, allowed me to sign the contract with her summoning, the phoenix. After that day, I started to surpass her, and began inventing my own jutsus.

---End Flashback---

I sighed, and looked up to see the gates of Kohona village in front of me. I was sent by Rin to try to live a normal life s a ninja, seeing as she taught me everything she knew.

I entered the village and made my way through the busy streets to the Hokage tower. However, before I got there, I was knocked down by a yellow blur, and I looked up to see a blonde boy lying on top of me.

"Get off me!" I said, and the blonde quickly jumped off of you and apologized.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there!" the blonde said brightly. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be the next Hokage! What's your name?"

I stood up, and smiled slightly at the boy. "My name is Mina Mikaru. It's nice to meet you," I replied.

All of a sudden, I heard someone yell, "NARUTO!" and saw a pink haired girl and a black haired boy running towards Naruto and me.

"Oh, hey Sakura-chan! Sasuke," Naruto said, grinning. "Mina-chan, this is Sakura-chan, and Sasuke," Naruto said, pointing to each of them. "Guys, this is Mina Mikura!"

"Hey," I said. The other two just looked at me curiously, both thinking different things.

'_Whatever…'_ (Three guesses to whom that was).

'_Mina-chan seems nice…maybe we can be friends, but SHE SHALL NOT HAVE MY SASUKE-KUN!!!!'_ Inner Sakura shouted. _'SHANNARO!' _

"Well, I've got to get going. See ya later, Naruto," I said, and ran past Sasuke towards the Hokage tower.

'_Wow… she's really fast…'_ Sasuke thought, as I sped past himc.

INSIDE THE HOKAGE"S OFFICE…

"Hokage-sama, there is a girl outside who wants to see you," the guard said, addressing the Hokage.

The Hokage sighed. "Send her in, then," he said, placing the Hokage hat atop his head.

"Hokage-sama," I said, bowing to the floor.

The Hokage turned to see me on the floor. "Rise, child. Now, why did you seek my presence?"

I stood up. "I was sent by Rin Hykito to live as a normal ninja here in Kohona. I assume you received her message?" I asked.

The Hokage smiled. "Ah, yes. Rin told me all about it. I have already set up an apartment for you. Although Rin has told me that your skills surpass a Jounin's, I still want you to attend the Ninja Academy, so you won't attract attention," the Hokage said kindly.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I said, bowing once more.

"Your first day at the academy will be tomorrow. Even though you will only get about a month of the academy in you, Rin told me you are a fast learner," the Hokage said, handing me the address and the keys to my new apartment, as well a leather pouch of money. "Rin sent the money for you. She didn't want to give it to you, because she was afraid you might be robbed."

I thanked the Hokage again before exiting his office, and walked toward my new apartment.


	3. Chapter 1

My Life as a Shinobi

Chapter 1

You sighed, leaning back in your chair. You were at the Ninja Academy in Kohona, listening to Iruka lecture Naruto about painting on monuments, or something like that.

Naruto was caught painting on the faces of the Hokage monument, and was currently tied up on the floor in front of the classroom, pouting and muttering something along the lines of 'stupid Iruka-sensei.'

"Alright, class," Iruka shouted. "Because of Naruto's idiocy, we will be having a pop quiz on the art of transformation!"

The class groaned, glaring at Naruto.

"Okay, I'll call you up randomly, so be ready!" Iruka said. "First up, Mina Mikura!"

All heads turned toward me. I sighed, and walked towards the front of the classroom. I silently did the jutsu, and I transformed into Iruka flawlessly. (I mean, after all, I am an ANBU!)

Iruka and the class just stared at me silently, gaping. "What?" I asked, irritated. I transformed back into myself.

"You just did the art of transformation without hand seals or anything!" Sakura said, staring at me in disbelief. I raised a delicate eyebrow, and folded my arms across my chest.

"Yeah, so what? I've been able to do that for a LONG time, so stop looking at me like I'm a three headed monkey," I said, and walked back to my seat. When I sat down at my seat, which was in front of Sasuke Uchiha, I could feel his eyes boring into my back. I just silently ignored it, and closed my eyes.

FAST FORWARD: LUNCHTIME!!!!

As Iruka announced the beginning of lunch, everyone began to file out into the courtyard, and I took my simple lunch of sushi and ate under a Sakura tree. When I was finished, I still had a half an hour left over, so I decided to train in the practice grounds.

I walked to the practice area, and looked around cautiously. I quietly took out my katana, which I had named Kira, and started to practice with it. After a while, I added chakra flames to it, making the blade glow a calming blue and ivory color. I walked out onto the pond at the side of the practice area, and I started to practice with the sword again, while walking on the water.

Little did I know that there was a pair of eyes watching me…

FAST FORWARD: END OF THE DAY

"Okay class," Iruka said. "Tomorrow is the graduation exams, so be prepared! You are all dismissed."

As the stampede of students ran out of the academy, I simply sighed. I formed a single hand seal (dragon) and disappeared in a swirl of water.

FAST FORWARD: THE GRADUATION EXAMS

It was finally my turn for the exams. I entered the examination room, where Iruka and Mizuki were seated.

"Okay, Mina. You have to make three clones of yourself to pass," Iruka said, looking down at his clipboard.

I smirked. Doing the necessary hand seals, I said, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Two puffs of smoke appeared, and there were three copies of me!

Iruka and Mizuki were looking at me wide-eyed. "How-? How the hell do you know that jutsu? It's at Jonin level!" Iruka said.

The three of me smirked. One of my clones grabbed a head band, and my extra clones disappeared. I was at the door, and the two Chunnin were still gaping at me.

"You know, sooner or later something unpleasant might wander into your mouth if you're not careful," I said, looking over my shoulder. "Like a bee or a wasp."

The two of them closed their mouths abruptly, and I snickered, closing the door behind me.

FAST FORWARD: THE NEXT DAY

I walked into the classroom where the teams were to be announced. I slid in the seat next to Sasuke, who looked at me emotionlessly as I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. I heard somebody yell "NARUTO!" behind me, and lazily opened my eyes to see Naruto grinning at me from my other side.

"Nice job Naruto," I said, complimenting him on passing the exams. He only grinned again, but was distracted by somebody standing next to him.

Sakura Haruno was currently glaring at me. I raised an eyebrow, and I knew what she wanted.

"Let me guess," I said. "You want me to move that way you can sit next to your precious Sasuke-kun."

"Yes!" Sakura said, and made a face at Ino, who was scowling.

"Well," I continued. "I won't move so that you can sit next to the dumbass Uchiha."

It took Sakura a few seconds to process what I said. "DON'T EVER CALL MY SASUKE-KUN DUMB!" she screamed.

"Whatever, but I'm not moving," I said, and closed my eyes again.

I sensed a punch coming my way, and blocked it with my hand. I opened my eyes to see Sakura staring at me, with surprise evident in her eyes.

"Don't move," my clone growled, as it placed a dangerously sharp kunai at Sakura's neck. "You know, it's these little things that can get you killed Haruno. Don't even try to attack me again, because I can kill you with one punch."

My clone removed the kunai from her neck and I flung Sakura over the heads of everyone and into a crowd of Sasuke's fan girls.

Everyone was dangerously quiet. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, and I glared at them. They immediately turned away.

Iruka came strolling in, not noticing the tension between any of us. "Okay, guys," he called out. "I'll be assigning the teams now, so PAY ATTENTION!" he yelled at a group of gossiping fan girls.

He started down the list. "Team 1… (etc…)"

"…Team 7: Haruno Sakura, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha…"

"…Team 8: Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka…"

"…Team 10: Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga…"

When he came to the end of the list, he looked at me.

"Mina," he told me. "By the order of the Hokage, I am assigning you to a team that graduated last year. He told me of your…ahem, skills, and I thought this team would be most appropriate for you."

I felt everyone's eyes on me again, and sighed. "Fine," I replied.

"Okay," Iruka said. "Everyone, your team number is the classroom you'll wait for your sensei in. Mina, you go to the Hokage tower at noon. Your team will meet you there."

Everyone nodded, and filed out.

FAST FORWARD: THE HOKAGE TOWER

It was already noon, and I was waiting at the Hokage tower. Being the impatient person I was, I spotted a nearby stream and walked over to it. I formed a few hand seals and muttered, "Elemental Water Art: Ice Needle Jutsu." When I finished saying this, thousands of droplets of water rose from the stream and began to take the shape of needles. The water needles hardened into ice, and the ice pieces began to circle me in a pattern.

I suddenly felt four presences behind me in the trees, and at my command, the ice needles flew towards the direction of the four auras. I heard a yelp, and I sensed the four people struggling against my ice needles.

"Don't even bother trying to escape," I said to the people behind me. I heard their struggling stop. "Those needles are as hard as steel, but are flexible enough so that anything that it is lodged into cannot be taken out."

I turned and walked over to the intruders, and saw two freaks with caterpillar eyebrows, a girl with her hair in two panda buns, and a white eyed boy with long brown hair who was glaring at me.

"Who are you?" I asked them suspiciously.


	4. Chapter 2

Recap:

_I turned and walked over to the intruders, and saw two freaks with caterpillar eyebrows, a girl with her hair in two panda buns, and a white eyed boy with long brown hair who was glaring at me. _

"_Who are you?" I asked them suspiciously._

"Eh, we are looking for a very youthful girl named Mina Mikura!" the bigger of the two eyebrow freaks said.

My eyes widened. "Oops, sorry," I apologized, and with a wave of my hand, the needles extricated themselves from the ground and the people's clothing. The thousands of needles formed into one large icicle, which melted into water, returning to the stream from which I took the liquid.

"Sorry," I apologized again. "My name is Mina Mikura."

"Hello!" the same eyebrow weirdo said, smiling brightly. "My name is Maito Gai, the youthful and beautiful Green Beast of Kohona!"

I sweatdropped. "Er… okay."

"I'm next!" the mini-me of Gai said, smiling a dazzling grin. "I am the ever youthful Rock Lee!"

I sweatdropped an even bigger… well, um…sweatdrop. _'Great…I have two morons who wear spandex on my team…just dandy,'_ I thought to myself. (**_Please_** note the sarcasm.)

"Hi!" the girl next to him said, smiling cutely. "My name is Tenten! It's nice to meet you!"

I smiled slightly. Finally, a sane person on my team! Unfortunately, she looked so much like a panda that I couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

I turned to the last person, the boy who was glaring at me earlier.

"Neji Hyuuga," he grunted.

'_Just great,' _I thought sarcastically. ' _I have two spandex-wearing geeks, a stick-up-my-ass jerk, and a girl who looks like a panda. Just peachy. How can life get any better?_' (**_PLEASE _**note the sarcasm!!!)

"Okay, Mina!" Gai said, interrupting my thoughts. "You need to take a test to see if you are really fit to become a genin! A spar shall be your challenge."

I nodded. "May I chose who I fight?"

Gai smiled at me. "Of course!"

I studied the three genin before me. "The Hyuuga," I said.

Tenten gasped. "Mina," Tenten said exasperatedly. "Are you out of your mind?! Neji is the best genin in Kohona! And you want to fight him?!"

I just looked at her. "I am no normal genin, Tenten-san."

"Whatever. It's her choice Tenten. If she wants to get beaten, then so be it," Neji said, smirking. _'This girl is interesting…'_ he thought.

I smirked back at him. "Don't look so sure of yourself, Hyuuga-san. You just might regret those words," I said.

"Hn… fine, but its your funeral."

AT GAI'S TEAM'S TRAINING AREA:

Neji and I stood across from each other, glaring.

"Before I start, I would like to say—" Neji began, but I cut him off.

"Just shut your mouth about your stupid fate and destiny crap. I came here to fight, not to get lectured," I interrupted him coldly. Neji's gaze hardened.

"Fine, but you asked for it," he replied, and went into battle stance, activating his Byakugen.

I laughed. "You really think the Byakugen can stand up against me?" I asked, chuckling. I activated my bloodline, the Tsukiki **(1)**, and performed a short series of hand seals. When I finished, I closed my eyes and reopened them again a second later. Tenten, Lee, and Gai, who were standing on the sidelines, gaped at me.

My normal brown eyes were now a swirling mass of blue and ivory, with flashing gold and silver flecks in them. "Secret Ninja Art: Bloodline Copy Technique!" I said, concentrating and closing my eyes. "Byakugen! Sharingan!"

My eyes snapped open. Now, there were three comma-shaped marks in my eyes, and the veins around my eyes were jutting out of my face just slightly. There was a cold look in my eyes, which Tenten shivered at.

Neji looked surprised, but his expression changed into a scowl. I took the traditional Hyuuga stance as well, which astonished the four ninjas before me.

At the same time, Neji and I charged at each other, exchanging blows. This went on for 10 minutes until I leaped back, and stared forming a sequence of hand seals at an inhuman rate.

"Elemental Water Arts: Crystal Ice Mirror Jutsu **(2)**! Water Control Jutsu **(3)**!" I shouted, and slammed my fist into the ground.

What happened next shocked the hell out of Gai, Lee, Tenten, and Neji. When my fist hit the ground, the ground around me cracked, buckled, and broke into pieces in a wide, circular arc around me. Taking advantage of their shock, I quickly summoned the water from the ground, and soon, Neji was encased in a dome of ice mirrors. I ran over to the mirrors, and took a step into the mirror. To the four ninjas' surprise, I fused right into the mirror, and my figure was reflected in the other mirrors around me, casting an image that I was in every ice mirror.

The many reflections of myself raised a hand, and some water from the mirrors melted and were floating in bunches in the dome around Neji. The images of me tightened our hands into fists, and the groups of water became sharp star-shaped icicles, which looked like shurikens. With our other free hands, my reflections took out three senbon needles, and all at once, my mirror images threw the needles and the icicle shurikens hurtled toward Neji.

Neji panicked at first, but remembered his Kaiten **(4)**. He smirked, and prepared to spin. To his shock, he found that he couldn't move his feet. Looking down, he saw his legs were encased in ice, which I had ordered to immobilize him while he was distracted. Using his arms to try to shield himself from the rain of ice and needles, he winced as each weapon made a new injury to his body.

When the downpour of ice and needles finally stopped, Neji was in really bad shape. His arms had needles and bits of sharp ice imbedded in them, causing his blood to stain the bandages. His torso had a large gash on his left side, from when an extraordinarily large icicle hit him. His jacket had many spots of blood on them, and it was very ripped up. Blood was dripping from his mouth and a cut on his right cheek, and Neji was panting heavily.

I released the ice that was encasing his legs, and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. The ice mirrors and makeshift shurikens melted into water again, and I made two more clones. The clones took out two kunais, while I took out a beautiful jewel-encrusted dagger. We walked up to Neji, and I pointed my dagger to his forehead, while my other two clones pointed their kunais to his heart and his neck.

"I win," I said, and Tenten, Lee, and Gai came running over to help Neji.

"Mina!" Tenten said angrily. "You shouldn't have hurt him this much!"

"He's losing a lot of blood," Gai stated, checking Neji. "Another 15 minutes and Neji could die from blood loss."

Tenten paled a considerable amount and turned to me, looking like she was about to explode. "Mina—"

"Tenten, he won't die. I'll heal him," I said shortly, and walked over to Neji. I knelt down and began to take off his hitai-ate. He grabbed my hand roughly, and glared at me.

"Don't touch me," he growled. Nevertheless, I just glared back at him and removed his headband. Placing a hand to his bandaged forehead, I closed my eyes and murmured a few inaudible words. My hand began to glow a sky blue color, mixed with swirls of sapphire blue. The calming bluish glow began to spread over Neji's body.

What happened next caused Tenten to gasp, and Lee and Gai to stare at me like I was a three-headed gecko. Neji's wounds began to heal, and his clothes began to mend themselves. The blood on his body evaporated, leaving Neji looking like he had never battled me at all. I removed my hand from his forehead, and retied his forehead protector on his forehead. I stood up and held out my hand to Neji. He ignored it and stood up, looking at his arms, which were healed.

'_Rude, much!'_ I thought angrily, and frowned. "Well, you're welcome," I said, rolling my eyes. My hand dropped to my side and I turned around, walking away.

"How did you heal me?" Neji asked curiously. I felt his eyes on me, as well as Lee's, Gai's, and Tenten's eyes.

"It's called a healing jutsu, Hyuuga. I assume you would know what that is?" I stated coolly, looking over my shoulder slightly, so that a half of my face was looking at them.

Neji glared at me. "Thank you."

I nodded and turned back toward the four ninjas. "Is there anything else I need to do, or can I go now?"

"Well," Gai started. "Why don't you tell us about yourself. Your likes, dislikes, goals, any interesting facts, stuff like that."

I walked back toward them and started to talk. "My name is Mina Mikura. I am 12 years old, and I recently came to Kohona from Kira. My likes are training, drawing, and painting. My dislikes are snobbish girls, stick-up-my-ass boys, annoying people, and anything frilly and pink **(5)**." At this, Tenten sweatdropped.

"My goals are to avenge my parent's death, prove to my clan that I am worthy of being a part of the Mikura clan, rid myself of this horrid curse mark, and to become the best kunochi I can be. Facts about myself are that I am the container for the seven-tailed phoenix **(6)** and the water dragon demon. I am also the reincarnation of Ichigo, the moon and water goddess **(7)**."

I finished quickly, and looked at the four people in front of me. Tenten was staring at me with wide eyes, while Lee and Gai were gaping at me. Neji was looking at me analytically, as if he were trying to figure me out. I knew what he was looking for.

"Hyuuga, I believe you are looking for this," I said, and I rolled up my fishnet sleeve to reveal an odd, vertical wave-shaped line with a thin, slanted triangle on each side, with the point of the triangle aiming toward the crest of the wave-shaped mark. Around the symbol, were four characters—water, moon, star, and seal in kanji— in a diamond formation. It was a royal blue color, and was shimmering slightly with purple and blue colors.

"My bloodline allows a person to be the container for more than one demon, and he or she can sign contracts with more than one summoning. Since I am the reincarnation of the moon and water goddess, my powers come from the water during the day and the moon at night. The seven-tailed phoenix inside of me is a fire bjuu, and my other demon is a water bjuu, so although they don't always get along, Ichigo keeps them in check. My bloodline limit, the Tsukiki, is a bloodline that can copy a person's bloodline limit or family technique. Since I am considered to be the prodigy of the Mikura clan and I am the host for three powerful beings, the clan elders wanted to control me; to use me as a tool to kill. This is how they control me," I explained. "My father had a wind demon sealed inside of him, so he was branded with the seal as well. He and my mother died 4 years ago."

Neji looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy. My story was similar to his, and he could understand part of the pain of being a cursed ninja.

"Well, that's it. I'll be leaving now," I said.

"Um, well, okay, Mina. Just meet us here at 6 o' clock tomorrow morning, for training," Tenten said uncertainly.

I nodded. "Fine," I said without the slightest hint of emotion.

"Wow," Tenten commented dryly. "You're the first person who didn't complain about the time, or who didn't tell us that we were crazy to start training so early."

I looked at her oddly. "There's nothing early about 6 o' clock. I used to wake up at 4 o' clock in the morning to train," I said. "I'll see you all tomorrow." And with that, I disappeared in a swirl of water.


	5. Chapter 3

Recap:

"_Um, well, okay, Mina. Just meet us here at 6 o' clock tomorrow morning, for training," Tenten said uncertainly. _

_I nodded. "Fine," I said without the slightest hint of emotion._

"_Wow," Tenten commented dryly. "You're the first person who didn't complain about the time, or who didn't tell us that we were crazy to start training so early."_

_I looked at her oddly. "There's nothing early about 6 o' clock. I used to wake up at 4 o' clock in the morning to train," I said. "I'll see you all tomorrow." And with that, I disappeared in a swirl of water._

I woke up at 4 in the morning, and sighed, looking out of the window. It was a really old habit, waking up at four in the morning, and apparently my body had adjusted to it so that it was like my natural alarm clock. I got out of my bed and went into the bathroom, stripping off my clothes. Stepping into the shower, I felt the hot, steaming water beat down on my back, and I took some shampoo and lathered it into my hair. When I was finished, I dried myself off with a towel and changed into my regular outfit, but strapped two katanas at my sides. I also slung a quiver of arrows on my shoulder, and took my archery bow. Grabbing an apple and taking some of last night's leftovers (sushi), I walked to the training area where Gai and the others had 'tested' me yesterday.

I was finished eating my apple, and when I arrived, nobody was there, as I had expected. I threw the apple core away, and climbed up a particularly tall tree, sitting on a wide branch, and started to sharpen one of my katanas. At around five, the sun started to rise, and I put my katana back into its sheath and watched the sunrise, the pink, orange, and yellow hues illuminating the sky. I just sat there, watching, while the sunrise brought back so many memories…

---Flashback: 4 years old---

"_Mommy, can we go to watch the sunrise again?" I whined, clutching the bottom of my mother's yukata. _

_My mother smiled. "Of course Mina. Let's go to the roof."_

_While my mother and I sat on the roof, we watched the sunrise, spreading brilliant hues across the sky. _

"_Oohh, it's so pretty!" I squealed, grasping my mother's hand. _

_My mother smiled gently at me. "It is, isn't it? My favorite time of day is daybreak." _

_I looked up at her curiously. "Why is it your favorite time of day?"_

_My mother gazed at the sunrise with a faraway look in her eyes. "It reminds me that it's the start of a brand new day, and you can start out fresh again. It was also the time when I first met your father, and when you were born, Mina," she said softly. "Dawn signifies the start of a new time in your life, as if each day, you are being reborn again, fresh, new, and innocent."_

_I was quiet. Smiling at my mother, I hugged her and said, "Sunrise is my favorite time, too."_

---End Flashback---

I felt a single tear roll down my cheek, and I bit my lip, trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. I felt the tear roll down, and it fell off, plunging to the ground below. There was a slight breeze, and the wind blew in my face, making my hair flow behind me.

"Hey," I heard a voice below me say. I glanced down, and saw Neji, standing below the tree and looking at me. I quickly wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my jacket and jumped down, grasping my bow tightly. Landing gracefully in front of Neji, I looked at him emotionlessly, nodding. "Hyuuga-san."

He nodded back. "Mikura-san."

I turned away from him and walked over to a ledge that overlooked Kohona. Looking down at the village, I smiled gently, as the breeze swirled around in my hair. I heard Neji walk over, and I sensed him standing next to me.

"It's beautiful, ne?" I asked softly.

"Hai," he replied in an equally soft tone. We stood there, just watching the sunrise, until Lee, Tenten, and Gai arrived.

"Hello my youthful students, Neji and Mina! Are you ready for today's training?" Gai exclaimed, making his 'nice-guy pose.'

Neji just 'hn'ed' and I sweatdropped. "Er… yeah, I guess so."

"Okay!" Gai continued enthusiastically, giving us a thumbs-up. (I sweatdropped again.) "First, we shall do 20 laps around Kohona! Then we will do 200 push-ups and 200 chin-ups! Next, we will start target practice for 3 hours, and then we will spar until 6 o' clock! Is that alright with you, Mina?"

I shrugged. "I've done more," I said nonchalantly, and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Okay, then! Let's start!" Gai said, and the five of us began our training day.

So everyday, we came to the same spot to train, and we did exactly the same thing every single day, unless we had missions, which were all really easy D-ranked ones. I heard that Naruto's team was escorting a bridge builder to the Land of Waves, where my old friend Haku was. I had met Haku when I was young, and we remained friends until he killed his father and ran away with Zabuza Momochi. Soon, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura came back with their sensei, and I met them at Ichikaru.

"Hey Naruto!" I called, and ran up to where Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and a silver-haired man were sitting.

"Mina-chan!" Naruto shouted, and sprang up to hug me.

"So, how did your mission go?" I asked, taking a seat next to Naruto.

"It was great!" Naruto said, stuffing his face with ramen. "We were protecting this old man, and then we fought these guys called Zabuza and Haku—"

"Wait a minute," I interrupted him. "Did you just say Haku? As in a boy who has long black hair, brown eyes, and looks a lot like a girl?"

Sasuke, Sakura, and the man next to Naruto looked at me curiously. "Yeah," Sakura said slowly. "How do you know? He died when Kakashi-sensei accidentally hit him with his lightning chakra jutsu."

I froze. "He-he's dead?" I asked in a whisper.

The man next to Sakura nodded. "Unfortunately, I was trying to kill Zabuza, but Haku ran in my way, and the Chidori hit him instead of Zabuza."

"Wow," I said softly. "I thought Haku was just kidding when he sent me a letter saying that he could no longer be my friend because he was with Zabuza. I guess I was wrong." I paused. "Did you bury him?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "He and Zabuza are buried near the bridge builder's house."

I smiled gently. "That's good to know," I said.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Kakashi," the silver-haired ninja said with a little wave.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you," I said, smiling. "My sensei always talked about you. She always called you the 'one-eyed baka who was a pervert.' "

Kakashi looked startled. "Anyways, I got to get going. Gai is giving us the Chunnin exam forms today. See you guys later!" I said cheerfully, and I disappeared in a swirl of water.

'_The Chunnin exams?'_ Sakura and Sasuke thought confused.

'_Hm…is it possible? Her sensei could be…?'_ Kakashi thought contemplatively.

'_I love ramen!'_ (Three guesses to who this is, and if you don't get it right, you're a baka, and you owe me 100 dollars. J.K. .)

I was walking along a random street. I had gotten the form from Gai already, and had filled it out. I was trying to find Naruto, when I heard Sakura's insane yelling and Naruto's shouting.

"Hey, let go of him!" Naruto yelled, as I caught sight of Naruto, Sakura, three little kids, and two foreign shinobi.

"Heh, yeah right. This brat's gonna pay!" one of the unfamiliar shinobi snarled, and shook the little kid he was holding by the collar. The kid, who I recognized as the Hokage's grandson, whimpered.

I quickly looked at the two shinobi. The one holding the kid was wearing a black outfit that had a hoodie. He had a wrapped object on his back, and was wearing face paint. The other one, a girl, had her hair in four pigtails and a large fan on her back. She wore a lavender fighting-kimono with a red sash, and fishnet on her legs.

I walked up to Naruto and asked, "What's going on?"

"Oh great," the boy said as he saw me. "Another weakling brat to deal with."

I sent him a very cold glare. "Who are you calling weak?" I spat. "At least I'm not the one wearing face paint."

I saw the boy's face redden. "It's not face paint!" he yelled. " It's war paint!"

"Sure, whatever you say," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Why you little—!" the boy yelled, and dropped the kid he was holding, lunging at me. My eyes turned blue and ivory, and the boy stopped abruptly. I saw a rock hit him on his wrist, and he howled in pain. He first looked down, and saw his legs encased in ice, with sharp icicles surrounding him. He then looked to the direction of where the pebble came from, and he spotted Sasuke, sitting in a tree, tossing a pebble in one hand lazily.

"That's it!" the teen roared in anger, and he slipped the wrapped object off his back.

The girl gasped. "Kankuro! You're going to use _it_?"

The boy smirked, but immediately stopped when he heard a voice.

"Stop it, Kankuro. You're a disgrace to our village." I turned to the direction of the voice to see a boy around my age standing upside-down on a branch. He had red hair, pale green eyes with black rings around them, and a large tan gourd on his back.

"B-but Gaara, the kid started it! He—" the paint wearing teen stuttered.

"Shut up," the red-haired boy said. "Or I'll kill you."

I saw the two shinobi on the ground shiver. "O-okay, okay, sorry Gaara! I-it won't happen again!" the boy stammered.

The boy in the tree disappeared and reappeared next to the two foreign shinobi. Sasuke did the same, appearing by my side.

"Hey, wait," Sasuke called after the three shinobi, who were about to leave. "What is your name?"

"M-me?" the girl asked, blushing and pointing to herself.

"No, the freak next to you," Sasuke said, pointing to the boy with the gourd on his back. I sweatdropped. _'Well, that was nice,'_ I thought sarcastically.

"Gaara of the Desert," the red-haired boy replied. "I am interested to know your name as well."

Sasuke smirked. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Gaara nodded and then turned his gaze toward me. "And your name?"

"Mina Mikura," I said coolly. "Well, since I'm not needed here, I'll be going. See you guys at the Chunnin exams." I began to walk away.

"Oh yeah," I said, stopping and looking over my shoulder. "This is for calling me weak." I turned abruptly and threw an icicle at the guy with the black hoodie on. The boy looked shocked as the icicle hit the center of his forehead protector, embedding itself in the smooth metal.

"Oh, and next time," I said. "I won't miss." And I disappeared in a swirl of water.

'_Hmm…this girl seems interesting,'_ Gaara thought, as he watched me disappear.


	6. Chapter 4

Recap:

"_Oh yeah," I said, stopping and looking over my shoulder. "This is for calling me weak." I turned abruptly and threw an icicle at the guy with the black hoodie on. The boy looked shocked as the icicle hit the center of his forehead protector, embedding itself in the smooth metal. _

"_Oh, and next time," I said. "I won't miss." And I disappeared in a swirl of water._

'_**Hmm…this girl seems interesting,'** Gaara thought, as he watched me disappear._

It was finally the day of the exam. I quickly got ready, changing into my ninja outfit and strapping my twin katanas at my side. I packed extra shurikens, kunais, and packed some extra food that would last me a week, just in case. I grabbed my quiver of arrows and my bow, and headed out.

While I was walking toward the place where the exams would be held, I met Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, who were also heading toward the exams. We walked up to the room where the exams were supposed to be held, room 301, and were surprised to see a large group of genin at the door, with two mean-looking shinobi at the door.

Tenten was saying something to one of the ninjas, but I narrowed my eyes as I saw him slap her. _'Ouch,'_ I thought.

"Hey guys," I said with a wave. Neji, Tenten, and Lee looked over in my direction. "Why are you still here?"

Tenten and Lee looked confused. "What are you talking about, Mina?" Tenten asked, puzzled. "We're supposed to go to room 301, this room, but these two other ninjas aren't letting us through!"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Tenten, you're not at room 301, let alone the third floor. Can't you see that it's room 201? You've only walked up two flights of stairs!"

While I was talking to Tenten, Sasuke was telling everyone else that the sign was under a genjutsu.

"Hn," one of the men smirked. "You might have been able to see through the genjutsu, but you won't be able to dodge this!" The man was about to kick Sasuke, and Sasuke was about to kick him as well, but I saw Lee run to block both of their attacks. I also saw that both Sasuke's and the man's legs were encased in ice, holding them down to the ground.

It took me a moment to figure out that I had commanded the water to freeze around both their feet without realizing it, and that I had self-consciously activated my Tsukiki.

"Gomen, Sasuke," I said, and I commanded the ice to melt and evaporate into water vapor. Lee let go of both of their legs, and smiled when he caught sight of Sakura. Tenten shook her head in disapproval as Lee strode over to where Sakura was standing.

"Hello! You must be Sakura!" Lee said, smiling brightly. "My name is Rock Lee!"

I saw Sakura look at him with a well-concealed disgusted expression.

"Will you go out with me? I'll protect you with my life!" Lee said, giving her a thumbs-up and a very shiny smile. I sweatdropped. _'No way is Sakura going to say yes,' _I thought to myself.

"Not on your life," Sakura said monotonously. She grabbed Sasuke and Naruto's wrists and said, "Let's go Sasuke, Naruto!" and she skipped away, dragging her two teammates behind her.

Lee looked sullen, and I placed a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon Lee. Let's go."

"No," Lee replied. "You guys go on ahead. I have something I need to deal with." And with that, he sped off in the direction Team 7 had gone. Sighing, I walked back to where Tenten and Neji were waiting.

"Lee said to go on without him. He'll meet us in the exam room," I told them. Tenten shifted nervously.

"Um, Mina, could you deactivate your Tsukiki?" Tenten asked, squirming uncomfortably.

"Oh!" I said, deactivating my bloodline limit. "Sorry, it kind of has a habit of activating on it's own."

"That's okay," Tenten said, sighing in relief. "Let's head to the examination room. We can wait there."

I nodded, and along with Tenten and Neji, we walked off to room 301.

We met up with Lee in the REAL room 301, and I just patiently waited, while reading a medical scroll. Soon, Naruto's team entered the room.

"Sasuke-kun! You're late!" I heard a very annoying and familiar voice screech.

"Oh, dear Kami, it's Ino," I muttered under my breath. Tenten looked at me confusedly.

"Who's Ino?" she whispered curiously.

"I'll explain. Okay, Naruto Uzumaki, the really loud blonde is the one in the orange jumpsuit. Sakura Haruno has the pink hair and wears the red dress, and is one of Sasuke's fan girls. Sasuke Uchiha, that guy from before, is the one in the high-collared blue shirt with the hair that looks like a chicken's butt," I explained.

Tenten nodded. "I see them," she said. "You know, that guy's hair does look like a chicken's butt." She giggled quietly.

I laughed softly.

"Next, there's Ino Yamanaka. She's another one of Sasuke's fan girls, and is the blonde who is clutching to Sasuke like a magnet," I continued. "On her team is Shikamaru Nara, the one with the black hair that looks like a pineapple, and Chouji Akimichi, the one who is stuffing his face in chips. Shikamaru is really lazy, but has an IQ of 200. Don't call Chouji fat or else he'll probably beat you up. They're the two who are behind Ino."

Tenten nodded, encouraging me to go on.

"Okay, and finally, there's the final three, behind Shikamaru and Chouji. Kiba Inuzuka, the one with the red triangles on his cheeks, can be wilder and louder than Naruto at times, and his partner is Akamaru, that little white puppy that's sticking out of his jacket. Hinata Hyuuga is Neji's cousin, and you can probably pinpoint her because of her eyes. She's really shy and quiet, but also nice, and has a really obvious crush on Naruto, but he's too thickheaded to figure it out. Finally, Shino Aburame is the last one there, with the sunglasses and the really high collared jacket. Add me in and you have the Rookie 10 Genin," I finished. "I'm going over to say hi, 'kay?"

Tenten gave me a small smile. "Okay, but don't go for too long."

"I won't," I promised, and walked over to where Sasuke was talking to a gray-haired, glasses-wearing Kohona ninja. I overheard him talk about a stack of cards in his hand, which had information on many different topics, including countries, certain shinobis, and other things.

"Do you have anyone or anything you would like to check?" the ninja asked.

"Gaara of the Desert and Rock Lee," Sasuke said, and paused. "And Mina Mikura."

My eyes narrowed as I heard my name.

As the gray-haired shinobi talked to Sasuke about Gaara and Lee, I made my way toward them.

"…And finally, Mina Mikura. An interesting choice, if I must say so myself. Let's see, she came to Kohona from Kira, the village hidden in the mist, and her teammates are Rock Lee, Neji Hyuuga, and Tenten. Her sensei is Gai Maito, and…" the ninja trailed off.

"Well?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"…It says here that she has completed 37 D-ranked missions, 31 C-ranked, 24 B-ranked, 12 A-ranked, and 8 S-ranked missions. Her abilities in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu are all extremely high, and are all on the same level. She must have been a very, very high-ranked ninja to go on 8 S-ranked missions," the teen continued slowly, looking up at Sasuke through his glasses.

My eyes narrowed. I had no idea what else he had on that card about me, but nobody else was going to find out. Walking up to the group of ten ninjas, I focused my eyes on the specific card about me, subconsciously activating my Tsukiki. "Hell's Eternal Fire," I whispered, and smirked in satisfaction as I saw my card burn up into ashes. I sensed the shocked stares of the ten ninjas around me. Staring into the shocked ninja's eyes through his glasses, I said, "You're extremely lucky that was not you."

Turning on my heel, I walked back to my team, ignoring the stares of the other rookie genin. When I reached my teammates, Tenten looked at me curiously.

"Was all of that stuff that other ninja say true, Mina?" Tenten inquired. Neji and Lee turned toward me, also eager to hear my answer.

"Unfortunately, yes," I growled in a barely audible voice, and plopped down in my seat, paying no attention to the curious stares Tenten and Lee sent me or the odd looks that Neji wore when he glanced at me occasionally.

I sat up when the examiner, Morino Ibiki, appeared, and I sat down in my seat, which was, coincidentally, to the right of Ino. I mentally groaned, and sat down, inching my chair away from Ino's being as far as I could. I didn't pay any attention to the rules, since I had already taken the exams before, and when the examiner, Ibiki, said to start, I looked over the test, smirking as I saw I knew all the answers.

I knew the objective of the written test, so I secretly set up a cheating-barrier jutsu, which blocked any kind of jutsu, effect from a bloodline limit, or any other way of cheating. Smiling slightly, I began to write quickly and confidently, finishing the first nine answers. I turned the paper over and leaned back in my chair. I decided not to take down my cheater-prevention jutsu, just in case.

It was lucky I did, since no more than two minutes after I had finished my exam, I saw Ino try to do her Mind Substitution Technique on me, after seeing that I was done. I smirked at the confused and frustrated look on her face as she tried the jutsu again and again, and failed each time. After who knows how many tries, she sent me a glare, and did her jutsu on Sakura instead.

I got bored after awhile, and I put my arms and head on the desk, deciding to take a quick nap.

I woke up to the dull thud of a kunai hitting a desk behind me. Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I checked the clock, and saw that there were only five minutes left. I turned to Tenten, who smiled and nodded. I smiled back at her, relieved that my other teammates had gotten all the answers.

"I am now going to announce the tenth question," Ibiki declared, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "But first, you must choose whether to take the question or not to."

"What?!" a cloud ninja exclaimed. "What kind of stupid question is that?!"

"Shut up and sit down," Ibiki barked at the genin who had spoken. "There's a catch. If you choose to take the tenth question, and answer it wrong, you may never enroll in the Chunnin exams ever again."

I heard a collective gasp. "What?!"

"You heard me," Ibiki said. "You will remain a genin forever. If you choose not to take the final question, you can always come back next year."

There was a deadly silence in the room. In a few seconds, multiple hands were raised.

"I quit!"

"Sorry, guys."

"I just can't take this!"

"I can't go on, guys."

As the quitting teams left the room, I saw that the original number of ninjas in the room had been reduced to only 26 teams, about 79 people.

I looked toward Naruto, who, to my surprise, was shaking uncontrollably. To my shock, I saw him slowly raise his hand.

I saw Ibiki smirk. Suddenly, Naruto slammed his hand down on the table.

"I'm never going to give up! I'm gonna pass the Chunnin exams, and then I'll become Hokage! Believe it!" Naruto shouted. He leaned back on his chair, crossed his arms, and set his face into a frown.

'I think that little outburst made everyone stay,' Ibiki thought to himself. 'I guess I'll have to pass all of these genin.'

"Congratulations!" Ibiki announced. "You all have passed the first part of the Chunnin exams!" Many people looked shocked, including that girl from Gaara's team and Sakura.

"What?" the girl exclaimed. "How?"

"Yeah?" Sakura added in a confused voice. "And why give us the first part of the test anyways?"

Ibiki chuckled. "The purpose of the test was to test your information gathering skills. Many of the questions asked on the test were questions that probably no genin could answer. The rules that were set, as well as the difficulty of the questions, forced you to cheat. However, you had to cheat in a way so that the Chunnin observers didn't catch you. If you were too obvious, then you were caught. The ones whose data collecting skills weren't high enough got weeded out. There were also three actual Chunnin among you, taking the test with you. They were the primary cheating targets, since they knew all of the answers."

At this, three male ninjas stood up, one of which was on my right. Ibiki nodded at them, and continued to talk. "Once again, congratulations on passing the first part of the—"

He was interrupted by a black blur crashing through the window, and two kunais with a cloth attached were thrown into the ceiling. A banner unraveled, and I saw the words, "Anko Mitarashi: Second Examiner of the Chunnin Exams!" written on the black material with white paint. There was a woman with blackish-purple hair standing in front of the cloth, and she looked kinda fierce.

"Listen up, maggots!" the woman barked. "My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'm gonna be your second examiner!" Ibiki emerged from behind the cloth, looking fairly annoyed and slightly amused.

"Early again, Anko," he growled in annoyance.

Anko rolled her eyes, and quickly scanned the room. "This many?" she questioned. "Wow, Ibiki. It seems that you're getting soft."

Ibiki scoffed. "Well, it seems that we have an exceptional group of them this time."

"Well, when I'm through with them, there'll be less than half of them," Anko said smugly, grinning.

"Okay, listen up, you maggots," Anko barked. Everyone was at a forest that was enclosed by a high fence, with a wooden booth and a flagpole near the main entrance. "The second portion of the exams is a survival test. You have five days to complete a pair of scrolls. Each team will get either a Heaven or an Earth scroll, and you have to find its opposite. To do so, you have to fight and defeat other teams." She held up two scrolls with the word 'heaven' on one and 'earth' on the other.

"When you get a pair of scrolls, you have to get to the tower that is located in the center of this forest. Oh, and welcome to Area 76, also known as the Forest of Death," Anko grinned sadistically. I sweatdropped. _'What a nice name…' _I thought sarcastically.

"Before you enter, you have to fill out these forms. These say that you are accepting the terms of this portion of the exam, including the chance that you might die. If you don't, then I'm to blame, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Anko asked sweetly. "Get your forms at the booth, fill them out, and then return them back to the two Chunnin there."

Everyone quickly took the forms, filled them out, and then returned them. Each team was assigned a gate in which to enter the "Forest of Death." My team got gate 12, Naruto's team got gate 39, and Gaara's team got gate 24.

There was a Chunnin at the gate, who was unlocking the gate and taking off the chains from the metal doors. The Chunnin checked his pocket watch, and put it away. "Listen up, you maggots," Anko's voice yelled. "The second part of the exams begins…NOW!"

When Anko yelled, "NOW," the gates flung open, and every single team sprinted into the forest.


	7. Chapter 5

Recap:

_Everyone quickly took the forms, filled them out, and then returned them. Each team was assigned a gate in which to enter the "Forest of Death." My team got gate 12, Naruto's team got gate 39, and Gaara's team got gate 24._

_There was a Chunnin at the gate, who was unlocking the gate and taking off the chains from the metal doors. The Chunnin checked his pocket watch, and put it away. "Listen up, you maggots," Anko's voice yelled. "The second part of the exams begins…NOW!" _

_When Anko yelled, "NOW," the gates flung open, and every single team sprinted into the forest._

I sighed, running a hand through my brown hair. I was deep inside the Forest of Death, trying to find a Heaven scroll to complete my team's set, since we had received an Earth scroll. Neji had suggested that we split up a half an hour ago, giving me the scroll to protect, and ever since, I had been moving through the trees, looking for a team to fight. So far, no such luck.

I took another swig of water and put my water canteen away, proceeding along. In a minute or so, I felt nine chakras to my right, and I decided to check it out. When I reached the place, I saw Gaara's team and three Rain nins standing in a clearing, obviously about to fight. Scanning the area for the three remaining chakras, I spotted Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino below me, hiding behind a bush.

Soundlessly, I landed in front of them, startling the four of them. I motioned for them to be quiet, and the five of us listened to the battle between Gaara and the Rain team's leader.

In a few moments, I heard a sickening crunch of a person's body being crushed, which I assumed was the Rain team's leader. I looked out of the bush just in time to see sand wrap around the two remaining Rain shinobi and crush them as well. Looking back at the four people next to me, I wasn't surprised to see them shaking; with fear, no doubt.

"Guys, did you get the two scroll already?" I whispered to them. Hinata nodded her head slowly. "Well, go to the tower right now. It'll take a long time to get there. It's in that direction." I pointed back to the direction I had come from.

The four of them hurried off into the trees, but not before smiling at me gratefully and mouthing the words, "Thank you." I nodded, and the four figures disappeared into the trees.

Looking back at the three Sand ninjas, I chuckled to see the paint-wearing guy— Kankuro, I think— arguing with Gaara. Unfortunately, I think Gaara heard me, and he looked in my direction, his eyes locking onto mine.

Caught, I stepped out of the bushes, surprising the two other nins on Gaara's team.

"Hey!" Kankuro exclaimed. "You're that kid who threw that icicle at my head!"

I rolled my eyes. "Great observation, you paint-wearing idiot," I replied nonchalantly. I smirked as Kankuro started fuming, and I looked at the blonde-haired girl.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"It's Temari," she replied. Then she looked suspicious. "Why ask?"

I shrugged. "Just wanted to know. That's a nice name, by the way."

She looked surprised. "Oh… um, well, thanks."

I smiled at her, and said, "Well, I'll just be on my way, now," and I began to walk back into the forest, but was stopped by sand wrapped around my wrists.

Smirking at the pathetic attempt to stop me, I used my super strength to break free of the sand, and resumed walking. I sensed a wave of sand coming at me, and I turned abruptly, with my Tsukiki activated and my hand raised to fend off the attack. To my satisfaction, a wall of ice had formed, blocking the sand completely, so I jumped into the trees and disappeared from view.

As soon as I had left, the wall of ice melted, and the dry dirt greedily soaked it up. Gaara just stared at the place that the wall of ice had been, while Temari and Kankuro were quiet, unsure of what to do.

"Let's go," Gaara commanded, and he walked off into the trees. Temari and Kankuro looked at each other and shrugged, following Gaara into the forest.

A FEW HOURS LATER…

So far, I had met and killed three teams, getting two Heaven scrolls and an extra Earth scroll, making two complete sets. Leaping silently through the trees, I heard a yell and someone who shouted, "Lee!"

I narrowed my eyes, as I recognized the yell from Lee and the shout from Sakura. Both outbursts had come from up ahead, so I sprinted through the trees, trying to reach the origin of the voices. As I came nearer, I heard a dull, repeating thud, and an occasional, "Get off!" Accelerating through the trees, I came to a clearing. I saw three Sound ninjas, a beat-up Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and an unconscious Lee, Naruto, and Sasuke. I landed in front of Ino's team, glaring at the three Sound ninjas. Looking over my shoulder at Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji, I said, "Don't worry, I'll deal with them. Take care of Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke."

Ino nodded, and she and Shikamaru began to help up Sakura. I turned my gaze back to the Sound ninjas, and began to swiftly perform hand signs. _'Rooster… Snake… Dragon… Ox… Tiger… Monkey… Hare!'_ "Elemental Fire Jutsu: Tangled Fireball Flames!" I shouted, and some strings I held that were attached to kunai knives burst into flames, and surrounded the three Sound nins, who were standing back to back to back (three-way). As they tried to get free, the shinobis just got more tangled in the ignited strings, and they screamed in pain as the flames caught their clothes on fire, and they quickly burned up, leaving a pile of ashes and my strings that were tied to my kunais. Retrieving my kunai knives and strings, I went back to Sakura, who was having Ino fix her hair, which had been cut short during the fight. Doing the hand seals for the same healing jutsu I used on Neji when I first battled him, Ino watched in amazement as Sakura's wounds began to heal and her clothes began to mend themselves.

When I finished, I stood up and walked over to Lee, and did the same to him. Then I went over to where Naruto and Sasuke were, and Shikamaru and Chouji were debating whether to kick Naruto in the face or throw him into a tree. I rolled my eyes, and began to heal Naruto and Sasuke as well. When I finished, I went over to Lee and slung one of his arms over my shoulders, and was about to leave when Sakura called out to me.

"Thank you, Mina," she said softly. I nodded, and fished a Heaven scroll out of my pocket, and then tossing it at her. Sakura caught it with a confused look on her face.

"It's the Heaven scroll from the Sound ninjas. When I looked through your stuff for medical supplies, I saw you guys didn't have any scrolls at all. I certainly don't need it, so you can have it," I told her. Sakura shakily smiled and said, "Arigatou."

I heard a loud moan, and turned to see Naruto and Sasuke groggily getting up. Ino immediately attached herself onto Sasuke, saying things like, "Oh, Sasuke-kun, I was so worried!" or something along those lines. Sakura started to fume, and in a few seconds, the two of them were bickering again.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Agreed," I replied, and for a moment, he looked surprised. I could see from his expression what he was thinking. "What?" I asked irritated. "Just because I'm a good fighter doesn't mean that I'm never lazy."

Shikamaru muttered something like "troublesome woman" and I hit him on the head. Ignoring his complaints, I laid Lee on the ground and walked over to where Sasuke and Naruto were.

"Eh? Mina-chan? What happened?" Naruto asked me groggily, as he got up.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said, but I could tell he wanted to know what happened, too.

"Well, you two blacked out, leaving Sakura to protect you two. Three Sound ninjas came along and attacked your team. Lee, my teammate, came to help Sakura, but he became unconscious to. Sakura fought them, cutting her hair in the process, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji came to help. By that time, I came along and defeated the three Sound ninjas, and healed you guys, Sakura, and Lee," I summarized quickly. Naruto just stared at me. Me, getting annoyed, bonked him lightly on the head, calling him a baka.

"Hey," Sasuke said. "What about those Sound ninjas? What happened to them?"

"Oh, them," I replied, tapping my chin thoughtfully. "Well, I burned them to a crisp and now all that's left of them are ashes which are blowing in the wind."

Sasuke chuckled a bit at my response and then became emotionless once again.

"Well, I have to get going. See you guys at the tower if you make it!" I said, while putting Lee's arm over my shoulder once more. Waving, I disappeared into the trees, and Sasuke stared after me.

'_Hmmm… this girl is intriguing…'_ Sasuke thought.

Sooner or later, Lee (who woke up a few minutes after we left Naruto's and Ino's teams) and I met up with Neji and Tenten, who had together found another set of scrolls.

"We have three sets of scrolls. I guess that's a good thing," Tenten said, scratching her head.

"Of course it is, Tenten. There are probably only going to be seven teams at most at the final portion of the exams. Considering that we took out five teams, our chances at becoming Chunnin are higher," I informed her.

"We should get going. We don't know how far away the tower is or how long it will take for us to get there," Neji said. "Does anyone know where the tower is?"

"Not me," Lee and Tenten said simultaneously. Everyone looked at me.

"I don't know either," I admitted. "But I know a way so that we can find the tower quickly and get there faster."

"How?" Tenten asked curiously.

I didn't answer her. Performing a few handseals, I said, "Summoning Jutsu!" There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a beautiful phoenix about two times my size appeared.

The phoenix was a golden color, with orange-red wing and tail feathers. Its beak was a sharp point, and its eyes were sky blue.

"Hi Tara," I greeted the phoenix. "Do you mind giving me and my friends a lift?"

Tara's eyes looked over to where Neji, Tenten, and Lee were standing. After a minute or so, she nodded her head, and lowered down so that we could climb onto her back.

Motioning for Neji, Tenten, and Lee to get on, they quickly sat behind me, who was already sitting on Tara's back. Neji sat behind me, and then Tenten, and then Lee. When everyone was seated, I patted Tara's head, and she took off into the air.

I had forgotten to warn my other teammates about the fact that they had to hold onto something tightly, and when we took off, Neji, Tenten, and Lee almost fell off. Neji's arms, which were resting loosely around my waist, quickly tightened, and I felt my back pressing against his chest. Tenten was clutching the back of Neji's jacket while Lee was shouting something about how wonderful it was to be youthful and free.

"Tara, please circle around above the forest, and when you see a tower, land right by it, please," I requested, leaning back against Neji. It surprised me when he pulled me in closer, and soon, Tara landed next to an old tower, which I immediately knew was the tower that we had bee looking for. Tenten and Lee jumped off, and looked back to Neji and me. Needless to say, they were quite surprised when they found us in our current position.

"Well, I see someone was getting cozy," Tenten joked. Both Neji and I blushed lightly as we both pulled away from each other and jumped off of Tara.

"Thanks Tara," I said gratefully, and Tara nodded, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

The four of us were on the opposite side of the entrance, so we ran to the other side of the tower. When we arrived, I saw three very familiar faces that I wanted to forget.

"Well, well, well. It seems that Mina has finally learned the ways of a Genin," the girl mocked. I glared at her and the other two boys who were standing there, just staring at me with perverted looks.

"Kari, Hamashi, and Fuumi," I growled. "I would say it's nice to see you again, but that's not the case."

(Let me introduce you.

Ryuu Hamashi: A stuck-up boy who thinks so highly of himself. Although he's handsome, he's a total idiot who gambles and dates random girls just for the fun of it. I hated him because he always tried to get a date with me, just so he could 'have fun' with me.

Kenchi Fuumi: A smart one, but also a total jerk. He's handsome, but a playboy, with a huge club of fan girls in Kira. Personally, I hated his guts.

Kari Mikura: My cousin who was part of the main branch, and the weakest shinobi I had ever met. She cares more about boys and dating than being a ninja, and has three new boyfriends each week. She was jealous of me, because I was a much better ninja than she was, and the fact that I had a fan club, and she didn't. She also hated the fact that I was the prodigy of the clan and an ANBU, and although she was the same age as me, she was only a simple genin.

Well, there you go. The most annoying team you can find in the ninja world.)

"Hn. You shouldn't talk to me like that, Mina. Especially since Daddy's going to torture you when I bring you back to Kira," Kari sneered, examining her nails.

I clenched my fists and bit my tongue, holding back the long stream of curse words I was going to unleash onto Kari. I felt a hand on my shoulder, which calmed me down considerably. I knew by the person's touch that it was Neji.

It was then that Kari caught sight of Neji. She started to smile at him sweetly. "Mina, aren't you going to introduce me to your hot friend there?" Kari asked in a syrupy voice. I almost gagged.

"He's not interested in you, Kari," I said coldly. "I know him long enough that I know what his likes and dislikes are, and weak fan girls are definitely on his hate list." Neji sent me a grateful look.

"Humph," Kari said, flipping her hair. "At least tell me his name."

"You're not even worth it," I shot back. "By the way, how did you get a scroll? Oh wait; let me guess: you found a scroll that somebody dropped, or you stole it from someone when they were sleeping."

The three of their faces turned red. I smirked. "I knew it," I said. "Well, I think we've wasted enough time here. Let's go guys." Neji, Tenten, Lee, and I quickly entered the tower, blocking out the angry shouts of Kari.

We walked into a room where there was a single poster on the wall. Reading it quickly and understanding what we were supposed to do, I took out a set of scrolls.

"Guys, we need to open these scrolls at the same time," I said, handing one to Tenten.

Tenten looked confused, but shrugged. Together, we opened the scrolls, and the room was suddenly filled with smoke. When the smoke cleared, a Chunnin appeared out of the smoke.

"Congratulations," the Chunnin said. "You have successfully passed the second part of the Chunnin exams."

After thanking him, the Chunnin disappeared again, and the four of us went into the tower to rest. After all, we still had a whole day left to sleep.


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi everyone!

Thank you to all who reviewed, it was great reading all your reviews! I'm **EXTREMELY **sorry for not updating any of my stories. The thing is, was somehow blocked on my computer, so I can't update any stories unless I'm at a library. However, I'm still writing, and I'm trying to update my stories. I'm really sorry for not telling you this earlier. Moving on to highschool can be a pain in the ass. TTTT

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and/or read my stories. I'm really sorry again, and I'll understand if any of you hate me now...

--Moon Tennyo

P.S.: I'll try to update my stories A.S.A.P.!


End file.
